On May 21, 2021, President Xi Jinping attended the Global Health Summit (GHS) via video link in Beijing upon invitation and delivered an important speech entitled "Working Together to Build a Global Community of Health for All". After the Summit, Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu briefed the outcomes of President Xi's attendance of the Summit.

Ma Zhaoxu said, the GHS is another important summit in the global fight against the COVID-19, and the highest-level multilateral summit in the global health field. It's been more than a year since COVID-19 struck, but we're still facing repeated resurgence and frequent mutations of the virus. The situation remains complex and grave. The world needs more confidence, hope and cooperation. At this critical moment, President Xi's important speech from the level of seeking human health and global development is significant for safeguarding multilateralism, promoting the global fight against COVID-19, and reforming global health governance.

The COVID-19 is the most serious pandemic unseen in a century. In the face of the ravaging COVID-19, President Xi cares for human health of the whole world, and leads the largest global emergency humanitarian campaign since the founding of the People's Republic of China, contributing Chinese wisdom and strength to the global fight against the pandemic, and implementing the concept of a global community of health for all with concrete actions. Since last year, President Xi Jinping has attended more than ten multilateral summits such as the Extraordinary G20 Leaders' Summit on COVID-19, the 73rd World Health Assembly, the High-level Meeting to Commemorate the 75th Anniversary of the United Nation, the BRICS Summit, the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting, and the G20 Leaders' Summit, and he has expounded the vision of building a global community of health for all, and proposed a series of major initiatives and measures. At this Summit, President Xi further put forth five proposals in advancing global anti-pandemic cooperation, and announced five initiatives, charting a course for the world to defeat the virus and secure economic recovery.

Ma Zhaoxu said, life is the most precious. Since the outbreak of the COVID-19, President Xi has demonstrated tremendous political courage, and put forward that we must always put people and life front and center.

At this Summit, President Xi shared China's experience in combating the virus, stressing that to completely defeat the virus, we must put people's lives and health front and center, and truly respect the value and dignity of every human life. We should advocate the spirit of science, adopt a science-based approach, and follow the law of science. We should coordinate pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions, balance targeted routine COVID-19 protocols and emergency measures, and ensure both epidemic control and socio-economic development. These visions proved effective by China's practices, and are consistent with needs of global fight against the pandemic, and well-received among the people of many countries. Putting people first, science-based policy, and coordinating pandemic prevention and control and economic recovery are written in the Declaration of the Summit.

The pandemic knows no borders. President Xi quoted a sentence said by an ancient Roman philosopher, "We are all waves of the same sea." In fact, "solidarity and cooperation" are the most frequently-used words in President Xi's expounding of the anti-COVID-19 propositions. As President Xi Jinping pointed out clearly, solidarity and cooperation is the most powerful weapon to defeat COVID-19, and we should walk out of the shadow of the pandemic through cooperation.

Confronted by the new challenges posed by the resurgence of the COVID-19, President Xi emphasized again at the Summit, we humanity rise and fall together with a shared future. We must champion the vision of building a global community of health for all, tide over this trying time through solidarity and cooperation, and firmly reject any attempt to politicize, label or stigmatize the virus. Political manipulation would not serve COVID-19 response on the domestic front. It would only disrupt international cooperation against the virus and bring greater harm to people around the world.

The practice of the global cooperation against the pandemic proves that the building of a global community of health for all shares desire of people around the world and accords with the trend of history. It is the right way for addressing human common challenges and building a better world, so it has gained understanding and support of more and more people.

Ma Zhaoxu said, vaccines are the most powerful weapon against the pandemic. As President Xi Jinping first announced at the World Health Assembly in May last year, COVID-19 vaccine development and deployment in China, when available, will be made a global public good. This will be China's contribution to ensuring vaccine accessibility and affordability in developing countries. This is what China has said and done. While advancing its own vaccination, China has provided vaccine assistance to more than 80 countries and exported vaccines to 43 countries. At present, China has supplied 300 million doses of vaccines to the world, ranking first in the number of vaccines offering to other countries. Despite the enormous demand at home and the serious imbalance between supply and demand, China honors its commitments, and distributes one part of vaccines to developing countries to ease their immediate difficulties, which has been widely praised in the international community. The safety and efficacy of Chinese vaccines have been widely recognized, and the WHO has listed the Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use. China has joined the COVAX, under which China has undertaken to provide a 10 million doses of vaccines, and it has also made progress in providing vaccines for UN peacekeeping operations and the International Olympic Committee.

All countries share the responsibility to fight against the pandemic, and everyone should have equal access to vaccines. Today, the problem of uneven vaccination has become more acute. President Xi pointed out, it is imperative for us to reject vaccine nationalism and find solutions to issues concerning the production capacity and distribution of vaccines, in order to make vaccines more accessible and affordable in developing countries. Major vaccine-developing and producing countries need to take up their responsibility to provide more vaccines to developing countries in urgent need. Multilateral financial institutions should provide inclusive financing support for vaccine procurement of developing countries. President Xi announced, China will provide more vaccines to the best of its ability, and it supports its vaccine companies in transferring technologies to other developing countries and carrying out joint production. Having announced support for waiving intellectual property rights on COVID-19 vaccines, China also champions the WTO and other international institutions in making an early decision on this matter. China proposes setting up an international forum on vaccine cooperation for vaccine-developing and producing countries, companies and other stakeholders to explore ways of promoting fair and equitable distribution of vaccines around the world. These tangible initiatives and measures demonstrate China's firm determination to work together with other countries to overcome difficulties and defeat the pandemic. China will facilitate global vaccine cooperation, close the immunization gap, and make vaccines public goods that are truly accessible and affordable to people in all countries.

Ma Zhaoxu said, China delivers the best outcome in honoring its commitment to making COVID-19 vaccines a global public good, standing in a sharp contrast to a handful of countries who chase after their own interests, escape responsibilities and human conscience, politicize the pandemic, stigmatize the virus, and propagate "vaccine nationalism".

The sudden pandemic is a "big test", and it has laid bare weaknesses and deficiencies in the global public health governance and highlighted the urgency to enhance capacity-building of global governance in the area of public health. President Xi has pointed out many times that public health emergencies like COVID-19 may very well recur, so there must be global action, global response and global cooperation. All parties shall uphold multilateralism, increase their political support and financial input to the WHO, support the WHO in playing a key leading role, and continuously improve the global health governance system.

President Xi emphasized at the Summit, it is important that we strengthen and leverage the role of the UN and the WHO and improve the global disease prevention and control system to better prevent and respond to future pandemics. It is important that we uphold the spirit of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, fully heed the views of developing countries, and better reflect their legitimate concerns. It is also important that we enhance our capacity of monitoring, early-warning and emergency response, and our capacity of treatment of major pandemics, of contingency reserve and logistics, of fighting disinformation, and of providing support to developing countries. President Xi emphasized, G20 members need to shoulder responsibilities in global cooperation against the virus. In the meantime, we need to draw on experience both positive and otherwise, and lose no time in remedying deficiencies, closing loopholes and strengthening weak links in a bid to enhance preparedness and capacity for coping with major public health emergencies. President Xi's above propositions suggest the way forward for the global health governance, and serve as a guide for the Rome Declaration of Global Health Summit to formulate the principles of preventing and addressing global health crises in the future.

Ma Zhaoxu expressed, the COVID-19 is a global challenge, and it can only be defeated by international solidarity and cooperation. There is divergence in anti-pandemic and economic recovery among different countries. In particular, the international community should give more attention and support to the developing countries facing with special difficulties and challenges.

As a member of developing countries, China has always addressed concerns and pressing needs of the developing countries, and will do its best to help the developing countries fight against the pandemic and stabilize economy. The two billion U.S. dollars in assistance pledged by President Xi at the 73rd World Health Assembly has been fully implemented. A cooperation mechanism has been established for Chinese hospitals to pair up with 41 African hospitals, and construction for the China-assisted project of the Africa CDC Headquarters officially started at the end of last year. China is fully implementing the G20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative for Poorest Countries and has so far put off debt repayment exceeding 1.3 billion U.S. dollars, the highest deferral amount among G20 members.

At this Summit, President Xi continues to call on the international community to accommodate the concerns of the developing countries, and provide greater support for them through means such as debt suspension, development aid and capacity building. President Xi announced, China will provide an additional 3 billion U.S. dollars in international aid over the next three years to support COVID-19 response and economic and social recovery in other developing countries. These measures have enhanced capability and confidence of the developing countries in responding to the pandemic, and demonstrated that China champions fairness and justice, and always upholds the common interests of developing countries.

Ma Zhaoxu expressed, a noble cause carries everyone forward, and compassion knows no borders. Guided by the principles of President Xi's major speeches, China will enhance solidarity and cooperation with the international community to jointly defeat the virus, and contribute to global stable economic growth and the building of a community of health for all.